Understanding Friable and Non-Friable Asbestos

Even though you might think that asbestos is an inherently dangerous product, it could be very useful as an insulator too. The degree of danger surrounding asbestos relies on whether or not it is friable. This influences the amount of asbestos that you are probable to inhale or ingest, when it can lead to cancer in your body.

Asbestos is a silicate mineral recognized for its capacity to insulating against heat, flame, chemicals, electricity, and biodegradation. In addition, asbestos flakes into microscopic fibers that have high tensile force and flexibility. Therefore, it is simply inserted to a wide variety of materials that necessitate insulating properties.

However, it's also the capacity to flake into small fibers that makes asbestos very dangerous. Asbestos products that could release the carcinogen into the air are determined to be "friable." Alternatively, products which have asbestos sealed firmly in order that it is unable to be released into the air are called "non-friable." While the usage of this material is principally banned, a number of non-friable containers of asbestos are still permitted.



The problem with asbestos fibers is that our bodies are unable to break down and digest or deal with them. Hence, our tissues shape nodules around the fibers that could afterward turn into cancerous tumors, or they could contribute to problems like pleural effusions. Certainly, when asbestos is present in the skin, it shapes lumps called asbestos warts.

While non-friable asbestos is deemed to be safer than friable asbestos, the former could still break down because of age or wear and tear, enabling it to become present in the air. Hence, when the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, or EPA, enacted legislation about asbestos, it took into account the possible dangers of even non-friable asbestos.

The National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) regulates asbestos in the air. It maintains that both non-friable and friable asbestos could become weakened by forces of nature or other such friction, resulting in the release of carcinogenic fibers. In consequence, although your home has non-friable asbestos, renovations or remodeling could release dangerous fibers.

Consequently, if you think that you have asbestos in your home, you must not disturb the material in order that you do not accidentally release the fibers into the air. You have to find a professional asbestos removal service to take the material out, and you must not refashion your home if you consider that asbestos may be present. For a number of people who are particularly sensitive to this material, a single exposure could bring about an asbestos-related disease.